New plans to crack down on under 18 e-cigarette sales are welcomed

The Department of Health and Social Care says it will allocate £3m to tackle the issue and will support local trading standards services with enforcement activities.

Measures could include the creation of an enforcement squad, made up of trading standards officers, to carry out test purchasing and to check products are compliant.

A centralised task force would also be set up to help gather intelligence and co-ordinate local enforcement action.

The measures will also call for help in identifying how best to stop children from vaping.

Vaping is acknowledged as an important tool for quitting smoking; however, concerns remain about the illegal sale of vaping products to under 18s.

NHS figures for 2021 also showed that reported usage of e-cigarettes had risen to nine per cent among 11 to 15-year-olds in England, up from six per cent in 2018.

In the same period, vaping among 15-year-old girls jumped from 10 per cent to 21 per cent.

Officers are also concerned about the alarming increase in harmful non-compliant products on sale in shops.

In Staffordshire, since April 2022 , the service removed over 9,684 illegal products with a street value of £128,106.

Philip White, deputy leader at Staffordshire County Council said: "Any move to protect children in this county from being able to access vapes is obviously welcome. We hope we can use the enforcement squad to really crack down on underage vape sales.

“In recent years we have seen a huge increase in the number of illegal vapes being seized and our trading standards team are working hard to tackle the issue.

"Officers also continue to work with businesses to make sure that vaping products are being sold responsibly and that retailers are aware of the rules.”

In 2022, the Khan review, making smoking obsolete, set recommendations aiming to reach ‘smokefree 2030’ with a primary focus on tobacco regulation.

This announcement will focus on vaping issues, including the sale of illegal and non-compliant products and the issues around underage sales.

People with information about the sale of counterfeit tobacco and cigarettes in Staffordshire should call the Fight the Fakes hotline on 01785 330356 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.